


In The Shadow

by bumblebitch



Category: Original Work
Genre: Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, M/M, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 06:36:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11572419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumblebitch/pseuds/bumblebitch
Summary: A young man starts a band in an effort to pay tribute to his superstar father, ultimately discovering more about himself along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

Hunter Morris groaned and rolled out of bed. He knew it was nine in the morning and he didn't care. 

He was 21, he could get out of bed when he needed to. 

Rachel, his mother was downstairs preparing breakfast when she heard the 'thump' coming from upstairs, followed by another groan. 

"Hunter? Honey, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Mom. Good morning by the way."

"Good morning. Breakfast is on the table if you need it."

"Thanks."

In bedrooms across the hall, Carrie Flynn and Alistair Dunbar awakened and stepped out into the hallway. 

"Good morning, you two!" Rachel greeted them with the same enthusiasm. 

You would have never guessed from all the smiles in that room that all four of them were deeply troubled. 

Rachel was a young single mother. She had Hunter when she was 23. Her boyfriend and Hunter's father was a famous musician by the name of CJ Kinney. He died of a speedball overdose when Hunter was 15. 

Carrie was born Christopher Flynn to a staunch Republican couple. She had grown up around racial and homophobic slurs and words of "God can fix anything" among other things. She came out at 14 to an unsupportive reaction. Her extended family tried their hardest to support her, but it was not enough and she was sent off to be adopted. 

Alistair was born to a pair of English immigrants who were seeking a better life in America. He told them he was gay at the age of 16, fearful they'd reject him. They were fine with him coming out and were incredibly supporting. However, it was hard for them to stay in a decent place health wise. His mother was an alcoholic and his father was a heroin addict. Both were dead by the time Alistair turned 15 in an orphanage.

Rachel, now with an insanely high paying job working for a music production company, happily took them in, as her pay was able to take care of them all.

And then there's Hunter. Hunter was extremely close to his father and had dreams of following in his footsteps as a musician. He knew very well the addiction that plagued his father's life and tried multiple times to find him rehabilitation. And his efforts culminated with coming home from school one Friday to find ambulances surrounding his home. 

He had died before he could get to him. 

His mother wasn't making nearly enough money to support his dream, so he inherited his father's guitars, which were in rough shape. The paint chipped, the wood cracked and there was cocaine residue all over them. He was able to get guitars of his own and keep the ones that were in decent shape. 

But even locking the old ones away didn't suppress the memories of his father's suffering. 

It would torment him wherever he went, whatever he did.

And he hated it.


	2. Chapter 2

"And good morning to you, Ms. Morris," they replied almost in unison. 

"Please, call me Rachel."

Hunter had finished his breakfast and was strumming away at his father's old custom guitar on the couch. 

A pale silver Jaguar, modified to the point where it was barely recognizable

But out of all its modifications, one was his favorite. 

Letters carved into the back of the guitar, spelling out:

'This guitar is for my son, who I love very much and who means the world to me.'

"So how are you two?"

"Much better since you took us in and made us feel at home," Alistair said, mouth half full. 

"He's right. I've never been more grateful for anything else in my life," Carrie added. 

"I'm grateful to have two of my best friends living with me, plus one of the best mothers in the world to back me up. I love all of you so much."

"Thanks, all of you. I try my best."

Another smile shared across the house. Hunter closes his book of songs, guitar tabs and lyrics that he'd written. He poured his heart into that book and he would protect it with his life. Forty songs and so many more. 

"Something wrong, Hunter?"

"I'm just feeling a little conflicted. I feel like I need to go my own way as a musician. I don't know if I'll be seen as me, or a novelty act to keep Dad's music alive."

Rachel sighed out of sympathy. 

"It's up to you. How do you want to be seen? Your own musician? Or just 'CJ Kinney's kid?' You make who you want to be. That's all in your hands."

Hunter got up and hugged his mother almost immediately. 

"Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed that."

"It's my duty as a mom to be there for you. Anything you need, we're here. We need you."

"Group hug!" Carrie shouted. 

Hunter closed his eyes and felt the love that was all around him. He knew that he had a group of people around him who loved and supported him.

He just needed to keep that in mind...


	3. Chapter 3

Hunter had since built a studio in the basement of the house. Soundproofing and things like that were an issue, but Rachel was able to help cover it. 

He walked down there one night to find that there was a drum kit set up in the corner. A rack full of basses that he never remember buying, nor ever seeing. 

And a group of synth guitars on the floor drove him to question out loud. 

"I don't remember buying these, what are they doing here? And what the fuck are these?"

"We brought them here," a voice said. 

Hunter turned around to a sight he never expected to see. 

"And those are my synth guitars. Touch them and you die."

Alistair and Carrie walked down the stairs with someone Hunter vaguely recognized. 

A slim, light skinned guy with a grey crop top, black leggings, black running shoes and neck length hair on his head. 

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?"

"No, I mean who are you?"

"Do you seriously not recognize me? It's me, Steph!"

Hunter was shocked. 

"Steph? As in Steph Chapman?"

"A lot has changed since the last time you saw me."

Hunter threw his arms around him. And he reciprocated.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too. More than you will ever know."

They embraced as Carrie watched on with tears in her eyes. 

"Oh, what are you looking at?"

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business. What are we doing?"

"I have this book of songs that I've written and I want to bring them to life somehow," he told them. "And if you could help me, I would really appreciate it."

Carrie and Alistair waited for his answer. 

"I would love to be a part of this."

"What's stopping you?"

"Nothing. Let's do this."

Steph and Hunter had known each other for years and were practically inseparable. Steph moved a few towns over and had not seen Hunter in person for three years. 

"Do we have a name yet?"

"We don't yet. I'm still trying to think of one."

"How about, say, Hunter Morris and the Simple Machines?"

"No. I feel like this band is all of us, not focused on just me."

"Well, how about Selenite?"

"Like the aliens from A Trip To The Moon?"

She nodded.

"Alright then, I like that."

They flipped through the songbooks again and again as Hunter played them all beginning to end. Steph was in awe. 

"Damn, I didn't know you could sing like that. You sound almost nothing like your father," he said. 

"Is that bad?"

"No, it's fantastic! We have something original to compliment the instrumentation. Let's get working!"

Bass lines, drum beats, and synth lines were written.

"Carrie?"

"Yes?"

"I have an idea. Try singing the second verse of this song."

He showed her the line she was singing, and she sang it. And quite well.

And Steph didn't realized he was harmonizing with her until Hunter pointed him out. 

"Who was singing that?" Alistair asked.

"These two over here."

"Damn, now we have three great singers in the band!" 

Carrie laughed and picked up one of her basses. They got to record eighteen songs in that session, and pieced together three EPs. 

It was a small start, but dammit, it was a start.


	4. Chapter 4

The four were anxious to start touring. Steph eventually moved in to making moving back and forth a little easier. 

Their debut album was released last week and they were all hellishly excited. 

Hunter and Steph stared at the stars as they lied on the beach their house rested on. 

"Damn, our first gig is next week. Hard to believe, right?" Hunter pondered.

"I know, isn't it exciting?" Steph replied, lying beside him. The two had started rooming together as soon as he moved in. 

"It's crazy. I'm actually in a band with people who I love and who I care about. My life wouldn't be the same without you."

"Aw, Hunter. I don't know what I would do without you. You've helped me so much and my life wouldn't be the same without you. I love you."

He sighed. 

"But, like, in a different way."

"What...what do you mean?"

Steph sat up and looked at Hunter. 

"Look, Hunter. I've known you since we were very young and we've been by each other's side for as long as I can remember. I was there for you when you lost your father, and you were there for me when I came out as trans."

He sighed. 

"I am three kinds of oppressed. I'm gay, I'm trans, and I'm half-black. But you made me feel like I was more than that."

He let out a shuddering breath as Hunter processed what he was saying. 

"And since then, I've had this feeling. It's there day and night and it never leaves. It's not a bad feeling, but it doesn't feel like a good feeling."

"Describe it."

"It's just that I have this obsession with someone. Someone I know well. He cares so much about me, I care so much about him-"

"That's love, you idiot."

They share a laugh. 

"I know, I know. But I want you to know who I'm having this feeling for."

"Who is it, Steph? You know you can tell me anything."

"It's...hard to explain."

Hunter grew impatient. "Come on, man! Just say it!"

"Alright, fine, it's you! It's you, Hunter! You're the one I love!"

Hunter was taken aback. Steph loved him? More than as a close friend? He was into him?

"It's okay if you don't love me back. You have your feelings and-"

Hunter cut him off sharply by pressing his lips on Steph's. 

"Hey, Steph. I love you too. And I'm not just saying that to make you happy. I mean it. I didn't know that you felt the same until just now, and I've been crossing my fingers that, just maybe, you felt the same way."

"Why are you doing this to meee? I want to snuggle you so bad!"

Rachael watched and listened to the whole exchange from the house with tears in her eyes. 

"He did it. My baby boy's found love."

"Don't cry, Mom."

"I'm sorry, I can't help myself right now."

They laughed as Rachel walked back inside and Hunter remained on the beach with his now-boyfriend. 

"Love you, Hunter."

"I love you too, Steph."

They kissed under the stars and let everything else slip away.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come here, Steph."

Hunter picked him up bridal style, walking up the stairs to their shared room. Hunter closed and locked the door. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd react! I didn't know you weren't straight until you kissed me back there, so how was I supposed to know that you love me back?"

"But it's okay now, right? You love me, I know you do, and I reciprocate that love. Everything's in place now."

"Heh, guess you're right."

A laugh, followed by a kiss.

 

“So, what kept you away from me for so long?”

 

Steph's smile faltered. 

 

“Steph, is there something you want to tell me?”

 

“I was...in rehab.”

 

“For?”

 

“I was a morphine addict, Hunter.”

 

Hunter felt his heart break as he saw Steph start to cry. 

 

“When did this happen? You should have told me!”

 

“It was the month I last saw you. I went away from everything, and I was alone and panicked and I needed something to numb the pain, and then I...I-”

 

Steph couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence as he cried harder in Hunter's arms. 

 

“I r-relapsed twice, and I tried going cold turkey, and i-it never worked! I almost died, Hunter! I'm scared! I don't want to (sniff) go back to that.”

 

Hunter felt an overwhelming sadness upon hearing about all of that. The fact that his other half went through hell alone and came so close to death tortured him. 

 

“I-If you want me to leave, I-I will.”

 

“Steph, no! Please don't leave!”

 

He stayed in Hunter's arms. 

 

“I know you probably hate me for this, Hunter. Why would you want to date some junkie like-”

 

Hunter cut him off by kissing him and tracing circles on his back. 

 

“Oh Steph, I could never be mad at you for something like this. I love you even more if anything because of your strength to get out of that. I'm here for you. I love you, my Steph.”

 

“I-I love you too, Hunter.”

 

Hunter held Steph as he cried himself to sleep silently. 

 

It made him sad knowing that he almost lost his one true love before even realizing it.


	6. Chapter 6

Hunter rolled out of bed and walked downstairs. His mother was already up, watching TV on the couch. 

"Good morning, Hunter!"

"Hi, Mom. Did you get enough sleep?"

"I tried, but it really wasn't easy, hearing the sobbing from across the hall."

Hunter looked down as he held his breath. 

"I heard the whole exchange and cried my eyes out as I heard it."

“Yeah, I thought so. I didn't realize someone like him could go through that. It hurt so much listening to that.”

 

“I know. If I heard him cry one more minute, I would have lost it myself. You have to be there for him, Hunter. It's my responsibility as your mom to let you know that.”

 

Hunter hugged his mother tightly, and she reciprocated. 

"Alright now that that's out of the way, I'll go start making breakfast."

"Thanks, honey. I would but I'm a little tired right now."

He laughed and started the burner. Alistair walked down the stairs and sat at the mini bar in the kitchen. 

"What happened last night?"

"Why do you ask?"

“What do you mean? The stories, the sobbing, and hearing someone say ‘I was a morphine addict, Hunter.’ What was that?”

 

“Steph poured his heart out to me last night. It made me so sad to hear that I almost lost my one true love before even realizing who it was.”

 

Carrie dropped the spoon she was stirring her tea with in shock. 

"I didn't even know you two were a thing."

"Who are a thing?" Carrie inquired from across the counter. 

"Me and Steph."

"That explains what your mom was gushing about last night."

"Was she?"

Steph walked down the stairs, tumbling down into the waiting arms of Hunter. 

"Morning, babe." 

"Good morning, Hunter."

The two kissed. Carrie and Alistair looked calm, but on the inside they were fangirling like idiots. 

"Oh my god, you two are so cute together!"

"Thanks."

"Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah, just a second."

Two weeks flew by and they played multiple clubs across the country in the space of eight months. The four of them were having the time of their lives. 

They had done it. They were a band. 

But Hunter was still feeling as if he was in the shadow of his father.


	7. Chapter 7

Hunter noticed one person that showed up to every show. And he noticed that this person was a damn near look alike of his father. 

Which got him thinking. 

He was never allowed to enter the house that day because of the medics surrounding it. He never saw what happened inside. 

He thought, could CJ Kinney still be alive? And if so, why did he hide from him this long?

"Hunter? You look uneasy, what's going on?"

Rachel noticed the man too, but shook it out of her head. CJ couldn't have lived. 

"It's about that guy at our shows. I know it's silly, but I can't help but think."

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but she noticed Hunter wasn't done. 

"Think about it. We weren't allowed into the house, so we don't know for sure what happened. We never saw any of it."

"And the media would have found out, but they were silent, which is shocking considering his popularity," Carrie cut in, startling them both. 

Rachel was speechless. They had a point. 

"That's it. If he's at the next show, I'm confronting him."

"Honey, are you sure that's the right idea?"

"It's the only way to know for sure, Mom."

"Let's do it together, then."

Hunter understood where she was coming from. She wanted to know for sure too, as his wife. 

They were going to find out what happened to CJ and that was final...


	8. Chapter 8

After the show ended, Hunter, Rachel, and the band managed to find the strange man after following him down the street from the venue they played. 

"Who are you and why are you following me?"

"You should know exactly who we are, CJ." 

"I am not CJ Kinney. CJ Kinney is dead."

"Turn around."

Rachel grabbed the man by his shoulder and whipped him around. He stared deep into her eyes and saw fear, confusion, and anxiety in his eyes. 

"Rach...Rachel?"

"It is you. I fucking knew it," Hunter said. 

Hunter threw his arms around him, as did Rachel.

"Crushing not breathing!"

Rachel sobbed into his shoulder for a good ten minutes, before wiping her eyes and slapping him six times. 

"Ow, what was that for?"

"One for each year we had to endure without you. Why did you even leave? Why were those EMTs there if you never-"

CJ steadied his wife and son and spoke to them.

"I did overdose that day. I wrote a note to the doctor that found me, telling him to tell you I was dead so I could slip to rehab."

"You could have told us!"

"The media would have followed me there, so I made sure to issue a release to the media that said to leave me alone, and was able to go to rehab."

CJ let out a sigh. 

"It wasn't easy. I relapsed twice and almost died for real the second time. I was unstable, but I was able to get myself back on track and now I've been clean for three years."

CJ wasn't finished. "I started coming to your shows after hearing your music on the radio at one point and the station bringing up me being your father, I figured that with me being clean and having reinvented myself, I could get back together with you and resume as normal."

"So, you wanted us to find you?"

"Yes, I did. I missed you all so much."

The three hugged as the rest of the band watched. All three of them tried to blink the tears coming from their eyes. 

CJ looked over to the three curiously. 

"So, you gonna introduce me to your band?"

"When we get home."

CJ smiled and got into the backseat of the car as Hunter drove home. 

There was a lot of catching up to do...

\----------------------------------------

 

CJ entered the house for the first time in six years. 

"It's exactly the same as it was," he said with tears in his eyes. 

"We're glad to have you back."

CJ smiled and sat down. 

"So, now that that's out of the way, this is my band," Hunter said, with a laugh. 

"I'm Alistair. I grew up listening to your music and it got me through a lot. You're my hero, man."

"Really? I don't know if I'm capable of 'hero' level yet."

"You are and you know it. You're awesome."

"Thanks for being a fan."

The two were laughing as if they'd known each other for years.

"I'm Carrie. Hunter has impacted my life in so many ways. He has guided me through so much, as I want to say thank you and Rachel for having a special kid."

"That's the magic of my son, isn't it?"

Carrie laughed and sat back down. 

"The name's Steph. Me and Hunter have known each other for years and were best friends for most of our lives. Although recently, we became something more."

Steph leaned over to Hunter and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Babe..."

"Hunter! I didn't know you were gay."

"I'm not. I swing both ways."

"Oh. Cool."

They laugh and discuss plans with CJ about him reviving his career. 

This would be the way things are for a while. But that's how they wanted it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking through to the end, if you did that is.


End file.
